PLEA Network

5 November 2015, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Seafood trade: A contagious tendency. Global marine resource exploitation can spread in similar patterns to disease epidemics. Current high-speed seafood trade leaves consumers blissfully ignorant of its strains on marine ecosystems and fish species. This is because global trade guarantees consistent availability of fish at affordable prices by sourcing from suppliers around the world, despite fish species being on the brink of extintion. In a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, several Centre colleagues in collaboration with WorldFish argue that global marine resource exploitation can spread in similar patterns to disease epidemics. The study highlights how the speed and connectivity of seafood commerce is severely challenging the capacity of existing regulatory institutions with the potential to decimate fisheries and the livelihoods of those that rely on them. Learn from WHO. Hampus Eriksson, lead author and scientist at World fish says: “Globalized markets connect distant sources of supply with metropolitan areas of demand. Exploitation expands so fast across the world in these modern sourcing networks that overfishing can occur before the resource is even perceived as threatened by management agencies.” The report’s authors propose that international cooperative initiatives, modelled on experiences in managing contagious diseases, could help to ensure the future sustainability of fisheries. Read More here